Our Verdict
The HD 201 below-average everyday headphones. They lack a lot of features and have an uneven, bass-lacking sound. They also struggle in loud environments.
- Stable fit.
- lightweight, decently comfortable design.
- Low leakage.
- Poor isolation.
- Flimsy, all-plastic build.
- Bass lacking sound reproduction.
- Noticeable harmonic distortion.
- Bass delivery varies significantly across users. Sensitive to glasses.
Average for neutral listening. They sound a bit uneven and poorly balanced. Their closed-back design also limits their soundstage which is not ideal for neutral listening. However, for their price range, they have a sufficiently good audio reproduction for most casual listeners.
Not suitable for commuting. The poor passive isolation is not enough for loud environments. They're also a little flimsy and lack a few features for frequent commuters.
Below-average for sports. They're lightweight and surprisingly stable. However they're a bit too bulky, and the long cable is cumbersome.
Below-average for office use. They don't leak much but poorly isolate listeners. So the chatter of a busy office will seep into your audio.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
Check Price
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
The Sennheiser HD 201, have a studio appeal that's a little bland but works for some. They have a black color scheme with gray accents on the back of the oval ear cups. They are not too bulky and look somewhat high-end even with their all-plastic build.
The HD 201 are lightweight and do not apply much pressure to the head. The oval ear cups are large enough to fit well around the most listener's ears. Unfortunately, they do not have enough padding on the headband and the ear cups, which reduces their level of comfort.
The Sennheiser are not the most portable headphones. They are mid-sized over-ear headphones but do not fold up into a smaller format for easy transport or lay flat to take up less space. They will fit in a backpack but are little too cumbersome for handbags and purses and will not fit into most pockets, even larger jacket pockets. They also don't come with a case or pouch which is disappointing.
The Sennheiser HD 201 do not feel durable. The all plastic design is a little cheap, and the swivel hinges look weak. On the upside, the headband and ear cups use slightly denser plastic, which should be able to handle a few drops, without damage.
The HD 201 are very stable headphones. Once on the head they barely move even during physical activities like jogging. They maintain their position extremely well during casual listening sessions, and although they are not designed for use while doing sports, they will not slide off your ears easily even after a violent shake. Unfortunately, the cord is not detachable, which may pull the headphones off your head if ever it gets hooked on something.
The frequency response consistency of the HD 201 is mediocre. These headphones showed about 6dB of deviation in bass delivery across our 5 human subjects. This is significant and noticeable, however, their treble delivery is decently consistent.
Poor isolation. These non-noise cancelling headphones don't isolate any sound below 1KHz. The passive isolation provided by the ear cups is also below average. It starts to kick-in around 1KHz, reaching the maximum of -30dB at 6KHz.
Decent leakage. The majority of the leakage is happening in the mid and treble regions, spanning from 500Hz-3KHz. Although this range is rather broad, the overall level of the leakage is not too loud.
No compatible app.
